Friday, October 07, 2016

Thinking Ahead: International Reciprocity for Concealed Carry Permits

Donald Trump has a reputation of being a world class negotiator. He says he is going to renegotiate NAFTA and other international trade agreements. He has a concealed carry permit. His sons have hunted internationally, especially in Africa. He is a world traveler.

When a firearms owner in the United States leaves the country, he loses the protection of the Second Amendment. This does not mean he loses the right to self defense.

It is a historically recent development to be legally difficult for Americans to travel abroad with weapons. Prior to WWI it was done with frequency and little hassle. Prior to WWII, it was fairly common.

Traveling with rifles and shotguns was no problem in Canada before 2001. Bringing a handgun required that the pistol be sealed when in the country; the seal was removed when re-entering the United States. In Mexico, Americans could legally bring .22 caliber rifles and pistols in and out of the country without a problem until 1972.

This is a real problem for Americans traveling through other countries. Handguns are quite useful in Alaska, for hunting and self defense, but it is a bureaucratic nightmare to cross the Canadian borders with one. In Mexico, people can end up in prison for the mere possession of a single cartridge while crossing the border.

Merely traveling to Africa or Australia to hunt has become a bureaucratic nightmare.

It does not have to be that way.

When Donald Trump re-negotiates trade agreements, he should include a provision for international reciprocity. Both Canada and Mexico have people who may legally be armed inside of their country. There are people who have permits to be armed, even if they are rare. The reciprocity would be a simple proposition. A country supplies us with a list of people who may legally carry in their country; we supply them with a list from ours. In the days of computers this is simple and easy.

Obtaining legal authority for Americans to be armed abroad could have been cemented in place shortly after WWII. Unfortunately, our leadership was "progressive" and thought the Second Amendment was old fashioned.

We could have included the provision into international arms agreements and or military aid agreements. At the time it would only have applied to a tiny number of concealed carry permits. I believe that we can still negotiate such deals.

Permits are available in both Mexico and Canada, but they are issued in very small numbers. In Mexico, From fed-soc.org:

The grounds for issuing a carry permit are: a need due to occupation or employment; special circumstances related to one’s place of residence; or other reasonable grounds. A carry permit applicant must also post a bond, and must supply five character references. Farmers and other rural workers are allowed (in theory at least) to carry legal handguns, .22 caliber rifles, and shotguns, as long as they stay outside of urban areas, and obtain a carry license.

But in practice, carry licenses are restricted to the wealthy and the politically connected.11 In a nation of 105 million people, there are only 4,300 carry licenses.

There are just two categories of individuals who are allowed an authorization to carry: those who require one because of their occupations and those who need one for the "protection of life." They need to get an authorization from the chief firearms officer for their province or territory.

According to RCMP data the National Firearms Association received in response to a recent access to information request, the average number of authorizations to carry issued was 8,169 per year between 2005-2011. The report does not provide a breakdown on the reasons for authorization. The access request was for information on training in firearms proficiency.

It is reasonable that trade agreements between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico include such a reciprocity agreement. People with carry permits in the United States have shown that they are far more law abiding than police.

For other countries the provision could be included as part of a defense agreement. In Europe, it could be part of NATO negotiations. In other countries, it could be part of an aid or weapons sales agreement. In many countries, it is only the powerful and wealthy who are legally armed. Many of them would like to be able to carry in the United States.

If we are going to provide arms and aid, there is no reason that trusted citizens from each country could not be allowed to carry self defense tools in the other country. It is insane that we provide billions in aid to Egypt, yet Americans who visit are required to be disarmed and helpless in the face of jihadi mobs.

I do not have problems with allowing Saudi princes to carry defensive or hunting firearms in the United States. Many may already do so under diplomatic immunity.

The reason we have not done this is clear. The "progressive" leadership of both parties in the United States want a disarmed population. Negotiating the ability to be armed abroad validates the necessity and practicality of armed self defense.

Because of American movies, many people in other countries already assume that Americans are routinely armed.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

There may be a way to sweeten the deal. Along with reciprocity, have an option for high quality government gun rental. Say an American goes to Mexico. When he arrives at a hunting reservation, he is shown a selection of firearms that he can rent, along with purchasing ammunition, just for use on that reservation.

This means he doesn't have to go through the inevitable hassles when crossing the border in both directions. And sure it would be more expensive, but those who would do so would likely be wealthier.

I can not support permits of any kind. why should you need a permit to build a home or exercise your right to protect that home? My property, my home, my guns and I will do with them as I please. You do what you like on your property. My neighbor across the street has an archery target set up. another neighbor has horses. I have projects under construction all over my property. live and let live. when you want to tell me when to cut my grass have a nice beef steak ready for your black eye. It is my property you did not pay for it I did so you have no say.

Subscribe To Gun Watch

Background

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” -- Thomas Jefferson

Syndicated columnist Charley Reese (1937-2013): "Gun control by definition affects only honest people. When a politician tells you he wants to forbid you from owning a firearm or force you to get a license, he is telling you he doesn’t trust you. That’s an insult. ... Gun control is not about guns or crime. It is about an elite that fears and despises the common people."

The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles -- Jeff Cooper (1920-2006)

Note for non-American readers: Crime reports from America which describe an offender just as a "teen" or "teenager" almost invariably mean a BLACK teenager.

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.

Two lines below of a famous hymn that would be incomprehensible to Leftists today ("honor"? "right"? "freedom?" Freedom to agree with them is the only freedom they believe in)

First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean

It is of course the hymn of the USMC -- still today the relentless warriors that they always were.

The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) said: "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

How much do you know about Trayvon Martin? Did you recognize him in the picture above? If not you may need to know more about him. It's all here (Backups here and here)

“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” -- Robert A. Heinlein

After all the serious stuff here, maybe we need a funny picture of a cantankerous cat